Comeback of Realism: the Case of China - EU confrontation over the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

China is undergoing a period of economic transition after a long period of double digit growth. In light of this economic slowdown, the fifth generation of leadership has promoted new policy initiatives aimed at increasing both economic growth and political stability. One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative is a historical initiative which connects the people over the world. It facilitates to connect people through road ways, air ways and water ways, coordinating policies of various governments, financial integration through cross border business, productivity and regional energy security. The OBOR was welcomed by the European Union (EU) when it was announced in 2013 because European governments saw opportunities for collaboration with China on building infrastructure across Eurasia. Europeans expected the links to increase trade in both directions. They also hoped that the large funding resources that China promised to allocate to BRI projects could complement their own investments in infrastructure. However, later European attitudes towards the Chinese initiative became more skeptical when political and economic implications emerged. The research focuses on the OBOR initiative, analyzes risks and challenges associated to its implementation, trying to understand China’s motivations behind the realization of this ambitious project through the realist IR perspective.